Solomon: Will new Astros owner put money where mouth is?

We’re going to learn a lot about Astros owner-to-be Jim Crane over the next few months and certainly years.

He is a sharp business-man, he loves baseball, and he says he won’t be a meddlesome owner, but rather one who will hire very good people and hold them accountable to get the job done.

He even said that the fans come first and foremost.

Sounds good.

Now, let’s wait and see if he delivers on the promises. Because that is all that matters.

Don’t be surprised if over the next couple of years, Crane delivers no more than Drayton McLane has over the last few. It won’t necessarily make him a bad owner; it is what it is.

The Astros are a bad team, and without an influx of talent, they aren’t likely to be a good team any time soon.

When Crane talks about spending “wisely,” Astros fans should cringe.

He says he has enough cash to “run the team effectively.” Now that’s what we want to hear. But don’t get too excited until you hear his definition of effectively.

Yeah, yeah, you can’t buy a championship, but respectability is for sale. Owners in a city the size of Houston should always spend enough to keep local teams respectable. A $70 million payroll for the Astros is not enough.

Yeah, yeah, you can’t buy a championship, but respectability is for sale. Owners in a city the size of Houston should always spend enough to keep local teams respectable. A $70 million payroll for the Astros is not enough.

Let’s see if Crane puts his money where his mouth is when it comes to acquiring talent. He shouldn’t get bonus points or be graded on a curve because so many of you grew to not like Drayton McLane.

Let’s not do what many have done with Bob McNair. Anger at Bud Adams and the loss of the NFL for a few years made some of you lose your minds to the point that McNair could do no wrong and has contributed somewhat to a decade of Texans futility.

Let some of you tell it, and McNair’s life dream was to deliver the NFL to Houston. Yeah, it was his dream, all right. Right after his dream of bringing the NFL back to St. Louis fell through.

McNair loves his team, and things worked out well for him, but the business of the NFL was his first love.

Houston deserves winner

And none of that matters. Love doesn’t score touchdowns, make tackles or win football games.

Is it too much to ask that a team wins more than it loses, regularly contends for championships and wins one occasionally?

That is what Houston deserves.

Crane loves baseball. He grew up a Cardinals fan. He tried to buy the Cardinals’ most hated rival, the Chicago Cubs. He tried to buy the Rangers.

Crane has been in Houston since 1982. I have no doubt he will love the Astros. You put that much money into something — even if you borrow much of it – you’ll love it, all right.

But before Crane bought the Astros, he loved baseball and making money. He isn’t even an Astros season-ticket holder. He said he lost that distinction when his company was bought out in 2007.

Can’t necessarily blame him for not re-upping. The economy has been a little tight, even if you are worth a few hundred million. And why buy season tickets when you can buy the whole shebang?

The Cranes summer in Nantucket to escape Houston’s heat. Franci Crane, the incoming Astros first lady, said that will not change, at least not on her end.

But when Crane is at games, he will be there to watch the game, not shake hands and socialize with fans as Drayton was wont to do. Crane is a baseball guy.

That doesn’t matter, either.

A fickle public

Relationships between sports franchise owners and major cities can be fascinating. Deliver a winner, and an owner will be hailed a city hero without kissing babies at the ballpark. Most times, failure to do so leads to an owner’s being described as a greedy scoundrel. Fans are understandably fickle in that sense.

McLane used to be the good guy for buying the team from the bad guy, John McMullen, who used to be the good guy (for a couple of days) for buying the team out of bankruptcy.

McMullen did a host of things to earn the bad guy title, including spreading false rumors that the team might move to Virginia. McLane did a few, too, including threatening to sell the team to a group that would move it to Virginia.

Thanks to the Washington Nationals, Crane can’t play the Virginia card.

Thanks to Minute Maid Park, he can’t complain about needing a stadium upgrade.

He can’t complain about paying too much for the team, either. Nobody forced him to jump into this business.